In one of the deadliest recent incidents in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed the famine-stricken Abu Shouk displacement camp near el-Fasher on Monday, killing at least 40 people and injuring 19, according to local rights groups.
The Emergency Response Rooms, a volunteer network operating across Sudan, said in a Facebook statement that RSF fighters raided sections of the camp, home to roughly 450,000 displaced people, targeting civilians inside their homes. The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, a coalition of local activists and residents, confirmed the assault, saying the devastation “reflected the extent of the horrific violations committed against innocent, defenseless people.”
Abu Shouk has endured repeated attacks throughout the war, despite the Sudanese army maintaining control of el-Fasher. According to an AP report, satellite imagery from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab showed around 40 vehicles inside the camp on Monday, with analysts reporting they were stationed in the northwest neighborhoods. The lab also reviewed photos and video allegedly “showing RSF shooting at people crawling away from them and berating and using ethnic slurs.”
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Additional imagery from Saturday appeared to show RSF forces blocking escape routes from el-Fasher, controlling key points along the road to Kutum and partially closing the route toward Mellit in North Darfur.
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The army reported heavy clashes with RSF fighters in el-Fasher from early morning until the afternoon on Monday, claiming it had repelled a “large-scale attack from several axes,” destroyed more than 16 combat vehicles, and seized 34 others, including armored cars. “Our forces repelled a large-scale attack from several axes by the terrorist militia and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in lives and equipment,” the army said in a statement.
The RSF, in a Telegram post later that day, claimed it had advanced inside el-Fasher and captured military hardware but offered no specifics. Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minawi praised the city’s resilience, writing on Facebook that el-Fasher “triumphed over those who betrayed their land.”
Meanwhile, violence in neighboring North Kordofan province has forced over 3,000 families from 66 villages to flee since early August, the Sudan Doctors Network reported. The RSF has been accused of looting property, seizing livestock, and killing 18 civilians in the area, with survivors seeking refuge in Khartoum and White Nile provinces.
The conflict, which occurred in April 2023 after long-simmering tensions between the RSF and Sudanese army, has killed more than 40,000 people, displaced up to 12 million, and pushed millions to the brink of starvation. The Abu Shouk camp is one of only two in Sudan where aid groups say famine conditions are acute.
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The United Nations sounded new alarms Monday, with spokesperson Stephane Dujarric warning of the “extreme dire situation” across Sudan. Edem Wosornum, operations and advocacy director for the U.N.’s humanitarian affairs agency, said over 60 people, mostly women and children, had died from malnutrition in el-Fasher in just one week.
